closet organization

In this post, I mentioned that we managed to fit all of our clothes into our closet, so that we could get rid of a dresser that was taking up a lot of space.

Luckily, the closet in our apartment is a good size. Here's how we organized it.

baked potato soup

This is one of my favorite recipes. It's a bit of work to make, but makes a lot of soup, and is very filling! I love taking leftovers to work for lunch!

Baked Potato Soup

1 c. sour cream

4 large baked potatoes, cubed

12 slices of bacon, cooked

2/3 c. margarine

2/3 c. flour

7 c. milk

4 green onions, chopped

1 1/4 c. shredded cheddar cheese

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1.) Melt margarine over medium heat and whisk in flour til smooth. 

2.) Gradually stir in milk, whisking constantly til thick.

3.) Stir in potatoes and onions and bring to a boil. Stir.

4.) Reduce heat and simmer 10 min. Mix in bacon, sour cream, cheese, and salt and pepper.

my style - red scarf outfits

As promised, here are a couple of the outfits I've put together using my red scarf.

This one is a casual outfit.

This one is a little dressier. I've worn this to work!

my style - red scarf

I got this scarf as a Christmas present from my mother-in-law and sisters-in-law. I've worn it a bunch since, and have been trying to find all the ways to wear it! My favorite thing about scarves is that you can wear them different ways, and with different things, for different looks. 

Here are my two favorite ways to wear this scarf:

I'll post complete outfits with this scarf later!

my weekend - hike 40: boulder creek

This weekend, we hiked number 40 out of my 100 Classic Hikes of Colorado guide. (I gave a small intro to the book in this post.)

Location: Colorado Springs

Estimated Time Hiked: 2 hrs

Actual Time Hiked: 1 hr 30 min

Distance: 3.2 mi

Difficulty: Easy 

This hike was really enjoyable. It was at the Florissant Fossil Beds. We were a little worried when we got there, because it looked like it was under construction. We realized later that it was actually an excavation site.

The hike was really pretty, and there was a big pile of rocks that we could climb on and around.

a dog on a budget

                 

(This is a dog I had growing up, she's still in Illinois, loving life I'm sure!)

As our finances are becoming a little more stable, we're starting to talk about things that are extra. Something that falls into this category is a dog. We've wanted a dog for a while, but we've put it off for a few reasons.

First, space. We live in a small apartment, have for the past couple years, and will for another year. Neither Alex nor I are fans of tiny dogs, but the apartment size would dictate having no bigger than a medium sized dog.

Second, the money. First, we'd have to pay for a dog, which is an expense, but not the biggest one. For us, we'd have a pet deposit we'd have to pay, as well as monthly pet rent. That's all before buying food, vet bills, toys, etc.

Third, time/commitment. We like to go places, and Alex is traveling a bit for work. That would mean that when we both go somewhere, we'd have to find someone to watch the dog, pay to kennel the dog, or take the dog with us. Being so far away from family (most of them live in IL) will make it hard to find someone to watch the dog, and I hate the idea of kenneling a dog.

I've realized that getting a dog is one of the easiest things to procrastinate. We may not get one while we are still living in the apartment, but hopefully as soon as we buy a house!

Maybe getting a dog isn't quite as important to us right now as we thought...perhaps a turtle would be a good idea?

I'll keep you posted!

my (first) job

It just occurred to me that I've never really posted anything about my day job. I did a post on my second job, but have never really talked about my job that pays the bills.

I do back-end computer programming for a financial institution. So, basically, I help maintain the core computer systems of the company by making updates and adding features.

Most of my work is mainframe programming, so COBOL. I've done a little Java for them, as well as dabbled in Unix programming. (Maybe this is why I've never written about my job before?)

The job involves a lot of research and problem solving, and overall, I enjoy it.

So, there you have it. I'm a computer nerd for a living. :)

my weekend - albuquerque, nm

                 

                  

This past weekend we drive down to Albuquerque, NM for my cousin's birthday. She had a Star Wars/Cinco De Mayo themed party, and I convinced Alex to dress up with me for the occasion. I was R2D2, and he was C3PO.

*Side note: I have an awesome husband. There aren't many that would agree to dress up as C3PO , putting all his trust in my (maybe?) capable hands!

Anyway, I made both of our costumes for a fraction of the price of what it would have cost to buy us both costumes.

R2D2:

a white dress - I already owned this

gray duct tape - had this in the laundry room already

blue duct tape - $3.37

C3PO:

white t-shirt - Alex already had one

khaki shorts - Alex already had these

gold glitter fabric paint -$3.87

multicolored yarn - $2.74

Oh, and, this should probably come out of my shopping spree.

Total: $9.98

$$ left: $104.84

my weekend - hike 36: Red Rock Canyon

I'm a little behind on my weekend posts, so this one is from a couple of weekends ago!

We hiked number 36 out of my 100 Classic Hikes of Colorado guide. (I gave a small intro to the book in this post.)

Location: Colorado Springs

Estimated Time Hiked: 2 hrs

Actual Time Hiked: 1 hr 15 min

Distance: 2.1 mi

Difficulty: Easy

This hike didn't take us as long as the book thought it should, but we also may not have followed the whole trail as the book said. We didn't take the book with us as we hiked, but the trails were very well marked with maps at the intersections, so we just found our own loop around the trails.

nail stickers - take two

I bought some zebra/jeweled nail stickers and tried them out in this post.

In that post, I concluded that having the whole nail covered by the sticker was just too much. So, I tried again, but this time only use pieces of the sticker. They stayed on much better, and were easier to deal with since I cut them with a knife before applying them to my nails, instead of trying to file the excess after sticking them on my nails.

I tried a different size/shape sticker on each nail. Which is your favorite? Do you like them all being different, or would they look better if they all at the same shape/size sticker piece?

care package for my sis

My sister was having a bit of a rough patch, so I decided to send her a small care package to cheer her up a little. Since this was an extra expense, I decided to include it as part of my $150 shopping spree.

I sent her a few things to pamper herself a little, because when I'm down, I always think that a face mask and new nail polish go a long way!

I included:

single size apricot foot scrub - $1.40

single size clay avocado mask - $1.40

burt's bees lip balm - $3

nail polish - $1.84

To mail it:

bubble wrap envelope - $1.38

postage - $2.29

Total: $11.31

$$ left: $114.82

going out to eat - a vicious cycle

We have found ourselves with a lot of money left in our entertainment budget, so we’ve been going out to eat lately as result. I’ve realized that going out to eat is a really vicious cycle, best illustrated by this picture:

A little simplistic, I know, but it's the terrible truth!